Stop worrying, enjoy the present

When I was 13, I got my first cellphone. It was an exciting day for me, since my peers already had them, and I felt behind on the times. I don’t remember much about that particular phone other than it being the worst hunk of plastic I’ve ever laid my eyes on.
Regardless of that, what I recall much more vividly was sending my first text message; it felt so cool—even if it was just to my mom. Over time I exchanged numbers with my friends and engaged in this new form of communication that had never been available to me before.
In between texts, I’d wait anxiously for them to respond, even if less than a minute had gone by. Ever since that time period, I’ve always had a phone in my pocket and that response anxiety still exists.
To paraphrase Dalai Lama—humans sacrifice their health in order to make money, and then they sacrifice money to recuperate their health. Then they are so anxious about the future that they do not enjoy the present.
As college students, we all experience this feeling of continuously seeking a response, that spark of instant gratification. Whether it is from our parents, teachers, classmates or a significant other. Those urges of predicting our own futures are more apparent than we may think.
For freshmen, maybe you’re teetering between majors. If you’re a sophomore, maybe it is deciding whether or not CSC is for you, or if you want to transfer. Then juniors and seniors, perhaps, have post-graduation planning and job searching or for some, searching where to study for your master’s degree.
With all these worries and distractions, added to by homework, studying, work and social life, it can be hard to not explode. I believe the issue is that we’ve been hard wired to constantly focus on the future, rather than flourish in the present.
Developing a mechanism known as delayed gratification can go a long way, not only for daily routines such as communication and studying, but also with major decisions such as enrolling in graduate school or prepping for the workforce.
My experience, and this is ongoing, is that firstly, multitasking isn’t realistic, and secondly, the future is always unpredictable. However, your future is plannable. With that being said, as a fellow student, I find it paramount to strategize weekly rather than yearly.
Concern yourself with what currently matters and keep both feet equally balanced. Where you are going to be two years down the road doesn’t currently matter, but what absolutely does is your sleep schedule, mental health, social life and academics; because, without keeping all of those things in check, those opportunities might not materialize the way you’d like.
Being a worrywart isn’t going to benefit you at all. If anything that type of mentality only programs you for failure.